Is It Ethical To Use Amazon?

[Misunderstood]

What country are you in?

Edit: sorry, I misread county as country. Are you in the US?

Yes it was pretty hard keeping all the rules straight. You had Federal, State, County, and City Rules; sometimes organizations would have rules you would need to follow also. Then you had the problem that sometimes the rules contradicted others.

But, I am getting off topic on that last part It had nothing to do with Amazon.

 

[sun rise]

I use Amazon but also check prices elsewhere because they're not always the cheapest. Also they have the problem so many other companies have about lying about sales prices because some products are always on sale.

 

[Sedim Haba]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Only if absolutely no other way to get something. I got a high-gain TV antenna, for example.
(I'm rural) Try to find THAT in a store nowadays. I use Ebay a lot, patronize small biz.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

That's a big claim. What makes you say that?

'There is no ethical consumption under capitalism' was a phrase initially used to highlight how striving to buy from only ethical sources is futile from a consumer action perspective, because 'the market corrects itself' is a myth. Capitalistic exploitation isn't resolved from a bottom up approach.

Even if it's possible to find some businesses that are environmentally friendly, worker-owned, locally sourced, etc, you won't find it for all the products you need to function in modern society. And likely what you do find is prohibitively expensive for many, as those businesses are hampered by profit cutting from exploitative businesses. Making it probable that the people who can afford it already benefit from unethical practices elsewhere to have those assets.

Basically, we all are forced to function in a system where most of us benefit from exploitation somewhere. Which isn't an excuse to not make informed purchases, but is reason to doubt 'consumer action' is a very useful tool to fight exploitation.

 

[Mock Turtle]

I must admit to not liking what Amazon tends to do with regards its employees, and possibly for other reasons, but I still do buy quite a lot from Amazon, mainly because the items will not be found in local shops and also I'd rather not open loads of accounts on the internet when just having a few (like Amazon) I suspect will be safer. As long as one isn't lax in this - and which is why I remove my payment details now after every transaction. I use it to buy CDs and mp3s, clothes, and all sorts of household items - and as mentioned, the latter not usually found elsewhere unless traipsing around shops is your thing. At my age - not my thing.

 

[exchemist]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Not unless there is no alternative. I regard Amazon as a threat to independent businesses, especially, but not only, booksellers. I estimate I buy from Jeff "Penis-Features* " Bezos about twice a year.

"He thinks he's a spaceman.", as my son commented after watching Bellend One lift off. Why would I help fund an ego like that while undermining small businesses?


*Harsh? Well, let's just say he should avoid roll-neck sweaters.

 

[exchemist]

Capitalism thrives and relies on exploitation of the working class. It doesn't matter the company, someone is getting abused. For anything to get better, Capitalism has to be reigned in with restrictions and regulations.

It already is.

 

[ChristineM]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Im not keen on it because of their treatment of staff and sometimes extortionate pricing on delivery*, however, where i live some items are impossible to obtain to they need to be ordered from far, far away, sometimes Amazon is the only feasible choice.

* In france goods are usually delivered by la poste (national postal service). So when you look for, say, a couple of litres of floor paint and delivery is two or three times the cost of the product, no thanks.

 

[Koldo]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Here in Brazil, Amazon does not have the same reputation as in the US. There were no scandals that I can think of. So yes, I make use of it.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Since I use them exclusively for income, I'm going to go with yes.

I'm a customer as well, but I don't use them exclusively. As with any other retailer, I go with the best deal unless it's a matter of need or convenience.

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't use it because it's usually ridiculously expensive.

They want $30 for the exact same brand and size of wild rice I get at the supermarket for $5

It all depends upon what ya buy.
It's a cheap source for some things, but not for others.
BTW, it's the best way I've found to sell books.
Hey...that's what it started for so many years ago!

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't use Amazon, partly because of the unethical treatment of employees at Amazon but I wouldn't make that into a categorical imperative.

Even employees who dislike working for Amazon
still think it's better than any other job they can find.
BTW, a friend who works at one of their facilities
tells me that most of the unhappy ones are just
lazy slackers who avoid work, & want to spend
all day on their phones. She likes her job there.

I've had jobs I disliked.
Know what I did?
I quit.
Got another job.

BTW, my new job has zero pay.
The hours are long, & the commute
is brutal. But it's only part time, so
there's plenty'o time to blather here.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I never knowingly use Amazon, or Uber. Definitely the unacceptable face of capitalism imo.

 

[Nakosis]

Well is it? Why or why not?

Do you use it for delivery orders?

Sure it provides a source of income for many people and businesses. It connects buyers of a product with sellers of a product. While my son worked there, there was nothing unethical about his treatment. It was competitive but he enjoyed that.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Capitalism is reigned in with restrictions and regulations everywhere on the planet that it exists, though. How do you figure that it is inherently exploitative?

Look at Amazon's work conditions. Follow product import back to where the workplace violations become human violations; pop-up sweatshops and the like. The bigger the Corporation, the more they're able to laugh at restrictions and just throw money at it, all while their employees are peeing into plastic bottles, hidden in a back corner because they're not allowed bathroom breaks.

And then to say nothing of the burden that Capitalism puts on the environment.

If I sell something to you as one private citizen to another, and we both agree on the price and both are happy with the deal, is that exploitation?

No, but that's also not Capitalism. That's commerce.

 

[Revoltingest]

And then to say nothing of the burden that Capitalism puts on the environment.

Unlike the burden of socialism, eh.

Whether ya buy yer widget from Amazon or your local Izzy's Auto Parts,
it's all capitalism. So either move to a socialist country where ya gots
nuthin cuz yer too poor, or stop carp'n about easy live'n, & just enjoy it.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Unlike the burden of socialism, eh.

In what way does the Chernobyl disaster relate to Socialism?

 

[Revoltingest]

In what way does the Chernobyl disaster relate to Socialism?

USSR was socialist.
USSR constructed & ran the reactor.
Bad design (unsafe).
Bad management.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

USSR was socialist.

The USSR was Communist. Not that it really matters because,

USSR constructed & ran the reactor. Bad design (unsafe).

Propagandist and a false narrative. The reactor was not designed so poorly to the point that it failed all on it's own because the duct tape wore out.

Bad management.

Correct. The testing of the power grid was poorly designed, through no fault of the economic system of the USSR. The crew working Reactor Unit 4 was not the crew that was trained for that test, nor did they receive proper instruction on how to conduct the test; the instructions received were heavily censored and incomplete. The safety measures in place were ignored, resulting in an explosion and then a fire that caused the reactor as a whole to collapse.

A mealy red herring; back to Capitalism now.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

USSR was socialist.
USSR constructed & ran the reactor.
Bad design (unsafe).
Bad management.

So literally anything bad that happens under any particular economic system can be attributed to that economic system?

Want to tally up all the atrocities, wars, genocides and disasters that have ever occurred in capitalist countries?